This invention relates to a process for forming curved ceilings in buildings.
In homes, apartment buildings, hotels and commercial buildings (e.g. shopping malls) it is sometimes desired to have arched (curved) ceilings. Such curved ceilings can be arcuate semi-cylindrical ceiling sections extending above the flat plane of the normal horizontal ceilings, to thereby form a raised cathedral ceiling section; the arcuate ceiling often has an arcuate length of about one hundred eighty degrees.
The raised curved ceiling section can provide an ornamental accent to an otherwise plain ceiling. The raised curved ceiling section can also be used as an ornamental ceiling for a hallway or as an ornamental relief to a large ceiling area; the arcuate ceiling section can be used to interrupt large flat ceiling sections, to thus avoid a monotonous or dull appearance that a large flat ceiling can sometimes present.
Arcuate ceiling sections can also be used to form cove ceilings. A cove ceiling comprises the usual flat horizontal central ceiling section except that is curved downwardly at its peripheral edges, where it joins the room walls. Each arcuate curved section has an arc of ninety degrees, to provide a rounded transition from the horizontal ceiling to the vertical walls.
Ceilings are often formed of flat sheet rock panels that comprise crystalline gypsum rock material sandwiched between facing sheets of treated paper. It is difficult to bend such panels into curved shapes because the crystalline gypsum tends to crack and fracture; the weight of the gypsum causes the treated paper sheets to tear along the fracture points, thereby interrupting the smooth panel surface.
The present invention concerns a process for forming sheet rock panels into curved arcuate configurations so that such panels can be used to form curved ceiling sections. The process involves thoroughly saturating a sheet rock panel with water, placing the wet panel on an arcuate form so that the panel conforms to the arcuate contour of the form, and allowing the curved panel to partially dry on the form. When the panel has dried to a relatively stiff condition it is removed from the form and nailed or otherwise fastened to a curved ceiling framework.